Sea station



Oct. 7. Y1924.

E. R. ARMSTRONG SEA STATI ON Filed Nov. I '2, 1922 2 Shoots-Shut 1 llll |x Oct. 7 1924- E. R. ARMSTRONG SEA STATION Filed Nov. '1, 1922 2 simu-shut 2 Eig. J

Patented 7,l

UNITED STA-'rss PATENT OFFICE.

'EDWARD :a msTnoNe, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIAn Applica v To all whom concem.'

stations as disclosed in my U. S.

Be it known that I, EDWARD R. ARM- STRONG, a citizen of the Dominion of Can.- ada, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, State of PennsylA #1,378,394 granted MayI 17, 1921, Commercial transportation by aeroplane over wide expanse's of water, such as. the

Atlantic Ocean 'between New York and London, is practical only by the use of sup.

ply stations located at desirable intervals along the route, at which stations the fuel supply can be. replenished and the many details of operation of such an airway properly conducted.) Buty tothose acquainted with the roughness of the ocean under storm conditions it is obvious how hazardous it would be to attempt to alight on the ocean near one of these stations during a storm in even the largest flying boat or hydro laeroplane, while taking off from the ocean tion, but' not restricting .it thereto, I show under these conditions would be impossible. It is thus necessary for thecontinuous operation-of an oceanA airway using anchored aeroplane supply and navigating stations to so construct and control them that aeroplanes can land directly on them and take oi fromthe same, and do so irrespective of weather conditions and the turbulence of the ocean.

It vis the principal object of the present invention to provide for the landmg on and the operation of aircraft from, such sea stations with safety under` all weather con ditions. To these ends, and also to improve enerall Xing t e positions of the same the invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed. 0 l V To `accomplish these objects I so deslgn and construct a; Boating dock or sea station that the and waves have pract'i, cally no eiecton it,-the result whereof 1s that'the upper, or landing andtake off deck, of the stationwill be steady and almost without movement at all times, 'even under vstorm conditions which would.m'ake-the 4largest of the ocean going vessels roll Aand pitch to` a dangerous extent.

on sea stations and methods of.

. i smlsfrarroN.

on and November 7, 1922. serial No. 599,544.

tent only, and so remains practically undisturbed -in even the most furious storms.

A floating dock or sea station suitable for a landing platform for aeroplanesyshould 'be of considerable extent, an jef'ective size being1200 feet long and 40() feet wide. To those skilled in the marine art it isa parent how diiticult, not t6 say impossib e, it would be to build aship or floating dock of thel usual type of the size indicated. According to my invention, the `design of my sea station or lloating dockv is such that it is `feasible to make one not only of the size mentioned but even, if necessary, of double the size.

For the purpose of illustrating my invenin the `accompanying drawings one embodiment thereof. In these drawings Fig. 1, is a side elevation showing a seastation embodying the invention, the illustrated station being equipped with housing facilities for crew and supplies,

Fig. 2, is a plan view showing, the top of the'station and'la'nding platform illustrated in Fig. 1,

. If'g. 3, is a cross section? of vthe sea station taken about at the centre ofv same, and

displacement members or loats showing the method of displacement control.

Referring now to the4 drawings, the

members 2, v preferably of uniform size, spaced according to the-deck load concen-4 tration as particular circumstances may dictate and connected to each other by spacing struts 3 and cross-ties 4. In 'accordance with the invention, the displacement members 2 are so designed that approximatelyv -percent of their displacement is below the wave disturbance line.

Fig. 4, is ank-enlarged view of one of the landing deck 1 of the sea station is supported on hollow buoylike displacement Foreconomy of construction the displacement members are divided into two main sections which I have designated as the load carrying 'section 5 and lthe stabilizing section 6. The portion 7 projecting from v section to the deckv of the sea station may be cylindrical and .is dimensioned primarily 'forstrength rather than displacement. vTo

olier .effective resistance to vertical movel ment of displacement members 2 through the water the preferably cylindrical part 8, connecting with load carryin section 6 is provided with circular col ars 9. Discharge openings 10 are provided at the base of the various sections 8 to allow'the inlet and discharge of water from them as may be required to decrease or increa'sethe-ds placement of the sea station as awhole,

therebyto maintain the normal waterline 16 ofthe same practically -constant despite variation in the live load to be supported by the dock when operating as an anchored" aeroplane sup'ply and navigating sea station. To give. statical stability to the sea station, stabilizing sections 6 are loaded with a suitable material, such as concrete, so that .the centre of gravity 17 of the dock' as a unit will be'below the unit centre of bu0y. ancyv 18 of the4 lacement members 2, which centre of isplacement is primarilyv determined by the size of load sup orting section 5 and this in turn determine by the distributed deck load each displacement member .2 has to carry. The landing deck lis builtl up of structural steel trusses 11 which areso proportioned and spacedin the central sections that adequate storage and repair space is available for 4aeroplanes and the manyl other items incidental to the op#v erationof such a dock as an aeroplane sup- 'ply and navigating station. For convenience in receiving and dispatching' aeroplanes `deck elevators'12 are provided so as to quickly clear the decks for arriv' g and departing L planes. Living quai-diie, shops and storehouses 1'3 are 1ocated on top .of the ying deck and at lthe extreme edges'f the same so aste give the maximum-clearancebetween them for the .operation .of the arrivin and departing v aeroplanes, For the regu ation and opera- 'A airway the wireless aerial 14 i's tion ofl theprovided.

To illustrate the rolling and pitching forces that the sea station mightbe subJected to the approximate contour 15 of 'Y a wavefiftyf eetfhigh and eight hundred feet long is shown.- The action of a wave of. this size on the .deck structure of th-,e sea station is effective only against section 7 of displacement members-f2, which force is vso 1 small as compared with the lesistance and i inertia` ofse'ctions', 6 and 8 and resistance eollarss'Q` of the displacement members as to proportions 'as to *disturbance line o the centre of gravitv of the floating 'dock' below the centre of uoyancy of same, andl be practically negligible as a disturbing force within the relativel short period of the passin waverwhich or thesize given would be about eight seconds.

In order that thedisplacementl of the members '2 may be varied at will, lthereby to provide for variations in the live' load on the dock while maintaining the same approximate water line 16, the section 8, of displacement members 2 are provided at their upper lends with a compressed air connection 19. By means .of this connection.

compressed air at desired pressure, controlled by any suitable means, (not shown) from navigating quarters 20, kor other suitable point, can be admitted and the pressure so regulated as to expel or admit, through the ports 10 the amountof water necessary to maintain the sea station at its normal water line 16 under varying conditions. of the live load in a similar manner .to th/at now used in standard ioating docks.l A differential control'of the air pressure in sections 8 between the end and side displacement members .is desirably used to obtain the proper trim of the 'dock longitudinally and laterally to compensate, if necessary, for

uneven distribution of the live load on thev landing deck.

I claim 4 p 1. In a floating dock,a ioat, a platform carried by the float above the same means for connecting the viloat and platform, a weighty means beldw the float, means for connecting the`weighty means and float, said elements being so related asy to weight and place said float below the disturbance lineo themaximum waveand thev centre of gravity of lthe ioating 'dock below the centre of buoyancy of saine.

2. In a floating dock, a float, a platform for. connecting the' float .and platform, 'a weighty means below the oat, means for connecting the weightymeans and ioat, said` elements being so related as'to weight and proportions 'as to place -ioatbe'low the the maximum wave-and said first named means being-shapedto pre- -and Boat provided with resistance members.

4. In a floating dock, a float,a platform place said'iloat below the carried by the float above the same means for connecting the float and platform, a weighty means below the float, means for connecting the weighty means and float, said elementsibeing so related as to weight and proportions as to place said float below the disturbance line of the maximum wave and the centre'of gravity of the iloating dock below the centre of buoyancy of same, and means for admitting the buoying liquid to or ejecting from the said means connecting weighty means and float.

5. In a floating dock, a float, a platform carried by the oat above the same, meansl for connecting the float and platform, a weighty means below the float, means for connecting the weighty means and float, said elements being so related as to weight and proportions as to place said float below the disturbance line of the maximum wave and the centre of gravity of the floating dock below the centre of buoyancy of same, and said first named means being shaped to present but small surface to the waves, and said means for connecting weighty means and float provided with resistance members.

In testimony whereof I aix m signature.

EDWARDR. ARM TRONG. 

